Goro Majima
Goro Majima (真島 吾朗, Majima Gorō) ''is a character from the ''Yakuza series. His flair has earned him the nickname "The Mad Dog of Shimano". He is the sworn brother of Taiga Saejima, who he sees as more important to him than almost anyone else. He has a twisted sense of loyalty and responsibility, especially when it comes to his ally Kazuma Kiryu. Majima believes he is the only one entitled to kill Kiryu, and has nearly died trying to protect that right. Biography and early life While much of Majima's personal life is unknown, the furthest scene into the past that he ever appears in has him talking with Saejima about an upcoming hit on behalf the Tojo clan. The plan was to promote the Sasai family to a higher position by launching a hit on the Ueno Seiwa family Patriarch, whom was released from prison and planning to rebuild his clan. Bringing with him a bag containing 6 disposable revolvers, they planned a hit with Majima making protests about not telling Yasuko that both of them are likely to end up in prison for their assassination and Saejima brushing him off. On the day of the hit however, Majima received a phone call from Shibata to forbid him from going to the assassination as the Dojima Family did not want to hold joint responsibility and letting Saejima going off to make the move that would shake the clan for years to come. When Majima refuses, Shibata summons a crowd of men to attack him. Despite his best efforts, he was narrowly bested and chained. Shibata takes out a knife and stabs Majima in the eye before leaving him at the mercy of Shimano. Three years after the hit, Majima was held captive in Osaka, under surveillance from Tsukasa Sagawa. During his later days in Osaka, he befriended Naoki Katsuya, an action film actor at the time and married Mirei Park, who was an aspiring Idol at the time. However, his marriage with Park didn't end well as Majima divorced her after discovering that Park aborted her pregnancy. Yakuza 0 Majima was held captive in Anagura, the Tojo Clan's personal torture chambers for a year for his defiance against Shimano. Enduring torture everyday, he was let out as a civilian. However, wishing to return to the Tojo in order to welcome Saejima back from prison, he is thrust into the Omi Alliance's Sagawa's hands as he was made the manager of the Grand Cabaret at Sotenbori. Under heavy surveillance by Sagawa's men during all hours of the day, he was thrust into the world of the nightlife making Sotenbori a gilded cage for him. With the promise of returning to the Tojo Clan if he can make 100 million yen in profits for Sagawa and Shimano. Despite the situation, he was able to make 100 million yen in just a year and received the title of "Lord of the Nightlife". Majima became a popular person in Sotenbori, especially among other cabaret businesses and consumers. However Sagawa raised the debt to 500 million and told Majima to that he can continue with his manager job or accept a job that would instantly put him back into the Tojo clan without needing to make any more money. The job in question was to "kill a person named Makimura Makoto who lives in Sotenbori", a hit that was asked from Shimano to Sagawa, due to geographic reasons. Majima reluctantly accepts the hit, despite having never killed anyone before, in part due to Sagawa's threats. Sagawa tells Majima that Makimura is a ruthless pimp, forcing college-aged girls to work for him and taking all of their money. Majima is then given just two days to complete the mark. Majima heads off to a telephone club, and after some time gets a call from a young college-aged woman whom says she knows a Makoto Makimura, succeeding in retrieving information from her of the location of his target. When he enters Makimura's office, a massage parlor, he takes out his knife and prepares to kill, only to find the place empty. As he's about to leave, a young blind woman accidentally walks into him and believes him to be a thief. Majima quickly defuses her fear by telling her that he's one of Makimura's patients. The woman, who works for Makimura, offers to give Majima a massage. Majima gets quite comfortable with her, eventually falling asleep as she massages his back. He's awoken by the sound of Makimura walking in, and the two wait for the woman to leave before fighting. While Majima comes out as the victor, several Omi henchmen led by Oishi arrive at the building, also demanding a Makoto Makimura. The woman returns and is forcefully taken away, while "Makimura" is shot and incapacitated. It is then that Majima learns that his target was in fact the young blind woman after all. Before he lost consciousness, the man posing as Makoto begs Majima to save her. Fighting through a number of Omi yakuza, Majima succeeds in saving Makoto. When they get to safety, she clings to his leg and cries. Majima sees this moment of vulnerability and pulls out his knife. After some hesitation and consideration, he decides to spare Makoto. Majima rents a warehouse from a competitor in the cabaret business to use as a safehouse for Makoto. Needing answers, he begins questioning her as to why the yakuza are after an innocent blind young woman. Though she doesn't know herself, Makoto reveals that she was living with Lee to find a man whom sold her as a sex slave years ago, where she went psychologically blind as a result of the constant trauma before being rescued by Lee. Majima quickly befriends her and tells her about a similar predicament he also suffered from. Majima then meets Lee who figures a way to get them off their backs so they can escape to Kamurocho and find Jun. Lee's plan was to use a body double for Makoto and have Majima or himself perform the task but Majima refuses to let that happen and fights Lee to prevent that from happening. Majima discards the setup only to find out the next day that the double was murdered anyway at the hands of Homare Nishitani, leader of the Kijin group. Fighting Nishitani in the Grand before he was taken into custody in lockup, he reveals that there were two sides in the conflict and that he was paid by a Tojo benefactor to bring back Makoto before Sagawa's men kills her. With few options, the three were forced to make an attempt to escape from Sotenboori as Lee was killed by a car bomb planted by Sagawa who learns of Makoto's location through the doctor that help patched up Lee. However Masaru Sera arrives to intercept the three of them and takes Makoto to the Camilla Grove for safekeeping and Majima at the mercy of Sagawa. Majima then searches for Nishitani who knows about her whereabouts and fights for Biliken at the Bed of Styx arena. There he learns about the information that Shibusawa knew and is already planning to intercept the extraction effort through Jun. As they attempt to escape, Nishitani and Biliken were killed by a cop bribed by Shibusawa and Majima escapes to tell Sagawa where Makoto is held. Fighting their way through the Camilla grove, Majima and Sagawa reaches the top only to find Masaru Sera and the truth that Makoto holds the deed to the land and Sagawa takes Majima to Kamurocho to take Makoto for themselves. As he wanders off to find Makoto, he was sent to see Shimano who reveals that Makoto would have given the deed to Majima and in turn Majima would give the land to Shimano and Sagawa as part of Shimano's strategy to consolidate his power with several different groups to establish his influence in the Tojo clan when the Dojima clan loses influence. Moping about at the revelation that he was being manipulated from the start by Shimano, he fights both Kashiwagi and Nishiyama for information on Makoto's whereabouts as she makes the revelation to make the Dojima clan pay for the death of her brother. Makoto tells him that her eyesight has gotten better after partially witnessing her brother's death, surprising him that such a thing can happen. However, she can only see his sillhouette and cannot clearly make out his face. After smelling a strong scent of vengence on Makoto's breath, he indirectly declines her offer of killing off the three heads of the Dojima family for 1 billion yen, pleading for her to not go down a road she'll regret. As he goes off to bring food for Makoto after a conversation, she was taken to the Dojima HQ where she planned to sell the land on the condition that the men who killed her brother be executed only to be intentionally nearly killed realizing that they only wanted proof so they can tie up the loose end. Witnessing the 'execution' of Makoto right before his eye, he pauses and takes in the reality that has happened before him. Surrounded by Dojima's men, he keeps his eye on Makoto before going on a rampage filled with anger and grief, bringing out a wild and enraged version of Majima that has never been seen before. After clearing out the men, he kneels before Makoto and feels remorse for all that has happened to her but notices that she is still breathing. He gives his best efforts to keep her alive by reassuring her that everything that has happened is not her fault and grabs her hand to make sure she doesn't feel alone during her last moments, but she loses conciousness. Sera enters the scene and observes the situation, taking Makoto to the hospital with Majima. Majima dashes by her side as she is being wheeled to the operating room. Although he is shouting the words towards her, he is more or less telling himself that she'll make it out fine. As the doors to the operating room shut close, he sobs for her recovery, promising that he'll grant her wish of eliminating the Dojima Family. Infuriated at Shibusawa ordering the death of Nishitani and wounding Makoto, he goes on an one man attack on the Dojima HQ and defeats Awano and Luo Gui. He was stopped by Sera who received the land and Makoto has recovered fully. After seeing his lackeys harass Makoto, he puts a stop to it and takes one last good look at her before deciding to leave Sotenbori for good after saying farewell to Sagawa. Although it is seen through out the game that he and Makoto were developing mutual feelings for each other, he makes the heartbreaking choice of not acting upon those feelings he has for her and firmly puts his heart and mind on lockdown for he makes sure his identity isn't revealed because he fears the chance of her entering a world of darkness again. Majima makes sure the man who takes care of her genuinely loves her, since he cannot do it himself because he'll be returning to the dark undergrounds of the yakuza. After being assured, he painfully walks away and disappears in the crowd as Makoto gazes on and wonders if he was the man who had saved her life. In the post game credits, Majima meets Kiryu in person for the very first time, and greets him with the enthusiasm of the Mad Dog of Shimano: "Yo.... Kiryu-Chan!".'' Yakuza Majima initially appears in ''Yakuza in the alley behind Serena to find one of his own family members sprawled out on the ground with Kazuma Kiryu standing over him. Delighted over having come across him, Majima catches up with Kiryu, asking about his plans for starting his own family. He openly expresses his envy for how Kiryu is often surrounded by beautiful women (referring presumably to Yumi and/or Reina). Majima decides to "take responsibility" for his family member's attack on Kiryu, striking him repeatedly with an umbrella. Kiryu grabs Majima by the arm and tells him to stop. Majima; disappointed, complies with Kiryu's request before leaving some parting words, saying that Kiryu needs to learn to enforce discipline for when the time comes that he creates his own family. Kiwami Only: ''Kiryu responds to Majima's advice, stating that he will discipline his family but will do so his way, with "logical methods". Feeling challenged, Majima asks Kiryu if he's looking for a fight. Kiryu refuses, sternly stating that it would not be logical and apologizes for causing any offence. This angers Majima further, who continues to goad Kiryu into a physical confrontation by striking him across the face multiple times with his umbrella, causing him to bleed, before threatening him with a blade. Kiryu stands calmly and refuses to hit back, asking if Majima is satisfied. Impressed by Kiryu's strong resolve, Majima backs down, telling Kiryu that "this world isn't logical" and that he risks getting himself killed if he refuses to change. The Dragon of Dojima acknowledges that his ideals will never change, regardless of his own personal safety. Majima leaves, exciting himself with the prospect of the two of them fighting each other someday.'' After 10 years, Majima and his subordinates attack Makoto Date and kidnap Haruka Sawamura to lure Kiryu so he can face him in the battling cage. When Kiryu arrives, Majima and his crew surround him, and while attempting to intimidate him with a speech, Majima is hit in the head with a baseball from one of the pitting machines. He begins laughing it off, and all but one of the yakuza by his side join in, causing him to respond by beating him, telling him that "was the part where you're supposed to laugh". Kiryu tells Majima to stop, drawing his attention back. Majima admits that he only kidnapped Haruka in order to get his chance to fight Kiryu, causing Kiryu to respond with disbelief at the length the Mad Dog would to just to start a fight. The fight ensues with Majima pulling out his Shadowblade Knife as him and his men attack Kiryu at once. Majima and his men are defeated but he refuses to give up while he can still stand. He notices one of his still-conscious men try to stab Kiryu from behind with his knife, and Majima rushes to get stabbed in his place. He reveals that Kiryu is now his friend and vows to him that he'll be the one to kill him someday. Majima collapses and his men take him away. Later on, when Kiryu and Haruka are at the Shangri-La hotel, Majima crashes into the building with a truck at high speed, unsettling the building and causing the occupants to evacuate. He once again confronts Kiryu by taking a woman hostage, asking her to become his bitch. She admits that despite her line of work as an erotic masseur, she has a boyfriend. Majima suddenly decides to let her go, admitting that he likes honest people and people shouldn't toy with emotions. Kiryu is once again exasperated by Majima rather extensive means of instigating a fight with him, and surprised that Majima was still alive. The two battle once more and their fight unsettles the already-unstable building even more, with Majima punching Kiryu with enough strength that the weakened floor gives way and they fall through. In the end, Majima is defeated again, though he smiles while acknowledging Kiryu to be a "hardass" before he loses consciousness. Yakuza 2 In Yakuza 2, with Shimano dead and his family now disbanded, the Majima Family leaves the Tojo Clan due to differences with its then-chairman Yukio Terada, and establish a construction company. With Kage the Florist gone from Purgatory, Majima immediately takes over the secret underground society. Although no longer interested in the clan, he promises to help Kiryu fend off the Omi Alliance after fighting him once again at the Underground Coliseum. He later takes on all of the men sent to the town single-handed. Recklessly disarming the bomb in the Millennium Tower, Majima tells Kiryu to finish off Ryuji Goda and the Jingweon Mafia at the final showdown as he proclaims himself as the one destined to defeat him. The Truth of Goro Majima Majima is competing against other clan members for young head captain of the Tojo Clan, more specifically Uematsu. When he is dropped off in town by his new lackey Kawamura, he is attacked by a mob, whom he defeats. He suspects that Uematsu planned the attack and heads to Uematsu's office to confront him, only to find him shot in the head. Majima returns to Tojo Clan Headquarters and told the other clan members that he found Uematsu killed in his office, but a clan patriarch Iibuchi suspects that Majima is trying to put the blame on someone else so that he doesn't get caught for the assassination himself. Majima gets angered and goes to find the Florist, who supplies him with information and evidence that Majima's new lackey was at the scene of the crime before he was. Majima is shocked and asks where he could be and the Florist tells him that Kawamura was last seen in Sotenbori, his old town. Majima heads for Sotenbori and bumps into his old friend and business competitor of Odyssey. He explains to Majima that Kawamura was frequenting a massage parlor called Hogushi Kaikan. Majima becomes hesitant but ultimately goes into the parlor in search of his lackey. A receptionist greets him and he asks if she has seen or heard of a man named Kawamura. She tell him that he does frequent the massage parlor and gambles on the floor above them, but hasn't caught sight of him recently. He thanks her but before he leaves, she asks him to take a massage course, which he declines. She pouts at him and obligates him to at least receive a massage for the exchange of information she gave him. He agrees and asks for the best massage course they have. As Majima waits on the futon for the massage, a young woman walks in and introduces herself as Tateyama Makoto. Majima, recognizing the voice, turns to look and sees that it's Makoto and retreats his face into the folds of his arms in hopes of hiding his face from her. She proceeds to massage him and he grunts in pain from the amount of pressure she applies to his feet. As she approaches closer to him to massage his arm, he turns to glance at her wrist, which is equipped with her watch. He is shocked to see her wearing it and she takes notice of it, asking if he is worried about her wearing a watch. He nods no and she proceeds to tell him about her life. She tell him of how she used to be blind and how a man saved her and returned her watch back. Her old wristband had to be replaced by a new blue one because it was worn out, but she likes the older one better. Ever since she got her watch back, she has gotten married and had a child, something that she has always wanted. Majima listens intently as she tells him that she has stayed in this town ever since because this town holds meaning to her and the man that saved her many years ago. She continues to work at the parlor in hopes of meeting him once more and thanking him properly. As Majima ups and leaves, she stops him and gives him her business card. She looks at him and asks if they met before and Majima, in order to hide his identity from her, nods his head no. She is apologetic for the mistake and he looks at her watch. He then looks up at her for one last time and turns to walk away. She asks if his body felt better after the massage and he whispers to himself that thanks to her, she took 18 years of pain out of him. She thanks him and he leaves. In the final scene with Makoto, she is on a plane with her family and searches for her passport. As she digs around in her purse, she finds a gift box that she received from her receptionist who told her that someone left it for her at the massage parlor. She opens the contents to find a wristband for her watch that is very similar to her old one. She is exasperated and wonders who could've known about this. She then flashes back to talking to Majima at the massage parlor about her life and finally makes the connection that Majima was her savior 20 years ago. She cries and thanks him for finally letting her life feel complete and free of worries and switches her wristband to the one that he gifted her. Yakuza 3 In 2007, with the Jingweon Mafia and the Omi Alliance dealt with, Kiryu meets with Majima at the top of Millennium Tower. Kazuma pleads with him once more to go back to the Tojo Clan to support the newly-appointed Sixth Chairman, Daigo Dojima, as a contingency for any future troubles. Majima, reluctant at first since his construction company is now his responsibility, becomes intrigued by Kiryu's idea that he would be able to run amok and cause chaos for the survival of the clan. Majima then explains that he is only swayed by the strong, and implies that he will only accept this favor by force. After their fourth battle in the series, Majima loses and promises Kiryu he would return to the Tojo clan, leaving him to wonder what he had got himself into. In 2008, suspected of betraying the Tojo Clan over the resort deal, Kiryu heads to Purgatory to meet with Majima to get his side of the story. Greeted by his large entourage of yakuza soldiers, Majima asks Kiryu to follow him to the now-defunct Underground Coliseum where they could talk quietly. Before Majima can answer any further questions, Kiryu must beat him first in the first official coliseum fight since its closure two years ago. After losing once again to Kiryu, he reveals that he got involved for Daigo's sake and that he was also set up by Goh Hamazaki as a suspect of the clan's inner dispute. After saving Kiryu from Land Minister Suzuki's private army outside of the Diet Building, Majima offers to send his family in Okinawa as assistance, which Kiryu refuses. Majima wishes him luck and tells him not to be beaten by Mine and the CIA as he's the one going to kill him someday. In Yakuza 3, his construction company commissioned a large office tower project named Kamurocho Hills at the north part of town. Yakuza 4 In 2010, the Majima Family has moved to the old Kazama Family office in the Millennium Tower. Majima follows the trail of Yasuko Saejima, determined to protect her for his old friend, Taiga Saejima. Majima sent Minami to track Yasuko as Lily at Elise. As Akiyama defeats Minami,Majima approaches in. Majima tells Akiyama the reason he came after Yasuko is one Majima should protect for amends what he didn't back in 1985. Majima aware about Saejima's arrival to Kamurocho sending Minami to send Saejima to meet him. Majima finally meet Saejima after Saejima defeats Minami and other members. Majima insist Saejima to follow him as Saejima wish to know. Majima is later reunited with Saejima at the batting cages where they fight before reminiscing. Majima recounts the story of how he lost his eye to Saejima, and Saejima comments that Majima's Kansai speech has improved while telling him that Shibata was ultimately murdered. Majima is later arrested to keep him from being an obstacle in Munakata's plan. Majima tells Kiryu that he is only one who Majima got and warn that Yasuko in danger. Majima begs Kiryu to help Yasuko before getting into the police car. Yakuza 5 At the start of Yakuza 5, Majima was in negotiations with the Sapporo branch of the Omi Alliance under orders of Daigo Dojima to help prevent the increasing possibility for war between the two Clans. In spite of his claims for peace, Tsubasa Kurosawa sent some assassins to kill Majima mid-negotiation. Majima survives, but was wounded. Local newspapers would report Majima as dead under Kurosawa's command, as to help demoralize the Tojo Clan and incentivize Kiryu to attack Kurosawa's inter-Omi Alliance rival Masaru Watase. In reality, Majima would retreat and heal at the Millenium Tower Tojo Clan HQ. Majima would then make contact via letter with his ex-wife Mirei Park and old buddy-now-Omi Alliance chief member Naoki Katsuya, though this was a part of Katsuya's plan to expose an unknown traitor (Kamon Kanai) from within Katsuya's ranks. However, during the finale the Millenium Tower gets taken over by Kurosawa's men and succeed in capturing Majima, who force him to fight his sworn brother Saejima Taiga under threat of having a sniper (Baba) kill Haruka mid-concert at the Tokyo Dome. He complies at first mostly to save Haruka and as an excuse to fight Saejima again, but soon they both turn on Kurosawa when Baba gets beaten down in his sniper's perch and Daigo Dojima comes to save the two brothers. Yakuza 6 Majima is seen with Saejima at the hospital in ensuring the safety of Daigo after Kurosawa's failed attempt at seizing power for his son; however, police come to arrest Saejima for escaping during the events where Kiryu was arrested. Sugai made a move that resulted in all of the Tojo clan's heads being arrested for their involvment in the Little Asia fire, leaving only Sugai and Someya in actual control and Majima in jail with Daigo. They do not make an appearance until the end of the story where they talk to Daigo about making a counterattack against the Yomei Alliance, but Daigo does not respond to their calls for war. Non-Canon Appearances Yakuza Dead Souls During the events of the zombie spinoff Of the End (Dead Souls in English), Majima is watching old zombie films in his flat in Millennium Tower when it is put under quarantine. He escapes the tower only to receive a phone call saying that he is late for the grand opening of Kamurocho Hills, a skyscraper he helped to construct throughout the series. He arrives only to find that it too is under quarantine, and that he must protect the people holed up inside the tower from the zombie invaders. He helps to evacuate the refugees to Purgatory, but in the process gets bitten by a zombie. He fears he may soon become one, a fear that is reinforced when Kiryu and Asagi (a female SDF soldier) remark that his eye has started turning red. In despair, he walks over to the Champion District, where he finds an abandoned Sauna. Thinking he may be able to "sweat out" the zombie toxin, he decides to visit. He is not seen again until the end of the game, where it is revealed that the zombie who "bit" him was in fact previously a toothless old man and thus did not manage to break his skin. It is also revealed that the reason his eye has turned red is because it was allergy season and he was suffering from hay fever. Binary Domain Project x Zone 2 Along with Heihachi Mishima (from Tekken series), he saves Phoenix Wright and Maya Fey (from the Ace Attorney series) from B.O.W.S (Resident Evil) attack. He asks who is responsible for the Thanatos attack, and Heihachi tells him Shadaloo is the main organization responsible for the attack in Kamurocho. Appearance Majima has a lean build, which enables him to possess incredible levels of speed and agility. His build is considerably slimmer than Kiryu especially outside 0, which led to some mockery in 0 ''(by local thugs) and in the fifth game (by Saejima). In terms of attire, Majima's attire in ''0 ''is a tuxedo jacket with matching bowtie, white dress shirt, slim-fit dress pants, and a pair of black dress shoes. He later changed his attire to his signature snakeskin-motif jacket, leather pants and leather shoes at the end of ''0. He originally has a medium-length haircut in most of his appearances and in the flashback scene in 4'', but in ''0, he grew his hair long enough to be done into a ponytail. Personality Majima has a very unique multilayered personality. The core of his personality is a cool and collected individual with a high degree of charisma and who is surprisingly very soft at heart. He loves to cut loose when formalities are not needed (particularly during karaoke) and sports a bit of a wild side -something he channels later as his legendary "Mad Dog of Shimano" persona. He is respectful by nature to strangers and superiors, and is surprisingly pragmatic, both of which made him a fantastic businessman throughout his life as shown by his success with the Grand, Sunshine Caberet, and later his construction company. This also led him to be favored by his superiors on multiple occasions, sometimes against his will as was the case with Sagawa. However, in spite of all this, the two traits that likely drew Majima to a life in the Yakuza are his deep personal joy for violence and to a lesser extent his drive for a state of power. This joy for violence would manifest itself early in his career and make him an excellent fighter, although killing is generally against his code of honor. As of the events of Yakuza Zero close, Majima ultimately adopts a persona loosely inspired from his enemy-turned-friend Homare Nishitani, adapting some of Nishitani's mannerisms and ferocity into his own Yakuza style (which he somewhat admits in his final speech with Sagawa) and building upon the reputation he gained during his one-man raid on the Tojo HQ in 1988 -arguably the birthplace of said persona. This crazy, psychotic, violent "Mad Dog of Shimano" side of him is what he becomes famous for as a Yakuza, to which he embraces for the rest of his Yakuza career except during times of serious high-level business. Majima enjoys power, and utilizing this fear for the "Mad Dog" becomes one his favorite tools in bending the wills of anyone below him, using regular random beatings on his own men to reinforce it. Majima is very much along the old ways of the Yakuza lifestyle similar to Taiga, valuing power over wealth in terms of deciding the worth of a Yakuza member. Majima has earned his reputation as the "Mad Dog" for his utterly unpredictable and violent attitude that members of his family are often more frightened when he is serious and calm. Despite this, he has never killed a single man not out of mercy but because of his views. To Majima those that he choose to kill are either in their dying moments and deserves a merciful death or people who had earned his respect to be allowed to die by his hand. To those that he views as trash and inferior he would ruthlessly beat them senseless but deny them an glorious death in battle. Majima over the years had went through several personality shifts, when he was oath brothers with Taiga he served as the calmer mind of the two, while he lacked the same mental commitment as Taiga he was the one who was concerned about Yasuko's welfare on the day before the hit. His loyalty to Taiga was felt throughout the years, choosing to let Shimano kill him when Sera and Sagawa ordered him to kill Shimano to ensure the secret alliance never reaches the Omi Alliance. After he returned to the good graces of Shimano he created the feared reputation of the Mad Dog, the unpredictable enforcer of Shimano's law. Later years shows his more sincere side and the sense of loyalty that was virtually unknown to Kiryu. After meeting Nishitani, he became a person with no concern for his own mortality as Nishitani gave little care about his own personal well being to achieve his own goals. While debatably good at heart, Majima's not quite as saintly as Kiryu as he doesn't feel compelled to save everyone all the time, but he generally makes a point of saving the innocent from offenders, particularly the young and the weak. He takes the title of Yakuza very seriously, and has little qualm with beating those who risk taking the mantle regardless of their ability. Majima also acts the comic relief in the game, his sense of dark humor is seen in Dead Souls where he laughs at the suffering of several con men as they were about to be bitten by customers they had scammed as well as the Majima training sessions where he will take up disguises for the sole purpose of training Kiryu. Fighting Style Yakuza 0 Majima makes his canonical playable debut with the ability to switch between different fighting styles never displayed in the series before. Mirroring Kiryu, his has four styles revolving around a default balanced style that is effective in most, if not all situations; a style focused on power that relies on slow but immensely strong attacks and increases resistance to enemy attacks; a style focused on speed to hit enemies quickly while dodging just as fast to avoid being hit; and a secret, legendary fighting style that the character in question will canonically adopt as their fighting style for the rest of the series. Majima is skilled in the use of many weapons, including nunchaku, swords, knives, bats, and batons. Compared to Kiryu's brute swinging, Majima wields them with proper technique and training. Balanced - Thug '(dubbed Street Fighter in Japanese release) Majima's canonical style throughout ''Yakuza 0, which is a fluid combination of punches, kicks, rolls and counters, emphasizing on street fighting with hints of trickery and sneak attacks. Majima is also able to dodge twice thanks to his speed. This style also enables Majima to handle certain melee weapons with grace, do disarm tackle at enemies who carry a gun, detect concealed personal arms from enemies, and even snatch weapons off of enemies. Compared to Kiryu's Brawler style, the Thug style has quicker pace. Power - '''Slugger A fighting style that emphasizes Majima's excellent ability to handle melee weapons, primarily baseball bats. Usage of weapons in this style disabled Majima from grabbing an enemy, but this is switched to a guard-breaking attack. Also, unlike the Thug style which enables Majima to dodge twice from enemies, Slugger only enables Majima to dodge once by default. There are several weapons of choice in this style, aside from the default baseball bat (dubbed Pummeling Bat in international releases), ranging from long poles, kali sticks, tonfa, nunchuk, and sword. The Slugger style emits a yellow/golden aura. Speed - Breaker '''(dubbed Dancer in Japanese release) Emphasizing on Majima's dancing skills and agility, this style combines elements from breakdancing and capoeira. In this style, Majima cannot do a grab, but instead, he will perform a backflip. However, when one purchased a certain ability, Majima will be able to dodge, perform a foot lock, and do a strike to an enemy. Weapons can be equipped, but only for those that are in the inventory (a certain ability will enable Majima to throw small objects into an enemy). A unique feature in this style is Majima can increase his Heat by dancing. The Breaker style emits a magenta aura. Legend - '''Mad Dog of Shimano Majima's Legend style combines street fighting, dancing, and melee weapons skills. Majima will hold a tanto (dubbed the Demonfire Dagger) as a default weapon. Unique to this style is the ability to run at an extreme speed. Attacks will mainly consist of kicks, flips and slashes/stabs. This style disables Majima's ability to grab, but is compensated with a low kick ability (or a spinning attack once Majima is at the 3rd Gear Heat level). Counters in this style are done by stabbing an enemy in the abdominal area. As for dodging, the ability to dodge twice is retained in this style. This style disables Majima's ability to grab weapons, but he can equip various weapons stored in the inventory. The taunt for the Mad Dog style involves Majima taking a small step back and laughing maniacally, and is unique in the game because it actually causes him to lose a bit of Heat overall(though less than the Dragon of Dojima's "Serenity" ability). Yakuza Kiwami Majima's default fighting style when fought is the Mad Dog style, but when low on health, he enters Heat mode with another style. In the first encounter at the batting cages, Majima switches to Slugger style, and in the second encounter at Shangri-La, he switches to Thug after he and Kiryu fall through the floor. While they may seem like downgrades, in Yakuza Kiwami, both styles are actually more powerful than Mad Dog. While in Slugger style at the batting cages, Majima cannot be interrupted during combos unlike Mad Dog, and his heavy damage and wide swings may cause Kiryu to lose large chunks of health if he is caught in a single combo. Two hits from Slugger style are able to break through Kiryu's guard. While in Thug style at Shangri-La, Majima's long-winded and relentless attack combos with very few openings can allow him to get many hits in on Kiryu if not careful, while his ability to recover from parries and single hits increases in speed. This makes it difficult to effectively attack him without his response. His dodging speed and distance are also enhanced, allowing him to get behind Kiryu very easily and attack the moment he approaches. In the Majima Everywhere mode, Majima may utilize all of his fighting styles depending on the encounter, including Breaker. Like Thug, Breaker leaves very little openings to attack, and coupled with his wide reach that forces Kiryu to stay outside of range, can make fights long-winded without proper abilities and upgrades. Yakuza 1 onwards During most of the series Majima is shown to be a vicious and aggressive fighter, often using his agility and nimbleness to move fast and land precise strikes. He always fights using his favored Tantō which he often uses in a chain of combos that must be evaded through specific button input sequences. He is shown to counter quick and can also spin like a tornado while hacking at his opponent. Due to the use of his knife he rarely uses punches and thus his style is a mix of kicks and slashes. Because of his knife it is impossible to block him unless one acquires the necessary skills to parry blades. Yakuza 5 Majima is somehow capable of creating shadow doppelgangers while he himself turns into a dark figure all of whom can hack at Saejima. It is hinted he is able to create these copies through sheer speed. Gallery Goro Majima/Gallery Trivia * Majima is the only character in the Ryu ga Gotoku(Yakuza) series who's been shown to be a standard boss, a final boss, an A.I partner in fights and a playable character. * Yakuza 6 is the first Yakuza game (excluding Yakuza 0) not to feature Majima as a boss. * It's presumed that Majima struggles with pollen allergy. Other * His signature weapon seems to be a Tantō, which he handles with immense grace and agility despite seemingly having no proper training with it. While not relying on it in combat, Majima uses it in tandem with his own punches and kicks. His final unlockable fighting style in Yakuza 0 is his infamous "Mad Dog of Shimano" style. This has him use it for the first time in combat, and while bringing it out, he will laugh maniacally as he adopts his Mad Dog persona. ** Even more disturbingly, the fourth game reveals it's the same weapon he lost his left eye to. * He ranked 1st place in the fan most favorite characters poll according to Sega due to being comic relief.Ryu ga Gotoku's popularity poll result * Majima appears to be a fan of baseball and a proficient batter. In Yakuza 4, he fights Saejima in a batting center, even referring it as "our old playground". His Slugger attack in 0 also emphasizes this. * He also appears to have a sense of care for the environment. In Yakuza 4's 1985 flashback, he told that a yakuza should also care for the environment, in response to Taiga's complaint about the hot weather. This can also be seen in Yakuza Kiwami's Majima Everywhere, where he can be found about to beat up a civilian for not putting his plastic in the recyclable bin and that it would have gone straight to the incinerator, though he doesn't admit it until after Kiryu fights him. After said fight, Majima goes on to say that "Seperatin' your trash is a man's civic duty! Ya gonna be there to take responsibility when we got toxic-ass dioxins floatin' around?!". Reference Category:characters Category:Males Category:Protagonists Category:Yakuza 0 Category:Characters in Yakuza 5 Category:Majima Family Category:Yakuza Bosses Category:Yakuza 2 Bosses Category:Antagonists Category:Playable Characters Category:Yakuza 3 Bosses Category:Yakuza 4 Bosses Category:Yakuza 0 Characters Category:Yakuza Dead Souls Characters Category:Yakuza 5 Final Bosses Category:Yakuza Characters Category:Yakuza 2 Characters Category:Yakuza 3 Characters Category:Yakuza 4 Characters Category:Yakuza 5 Characters Category:Yakuza Category:Yakuza 2 characters Category:Yakuza 3 characters Category:Yakuza 4 characters Category:Yakuza 5 characters Category:Playable characters Category:Shimano Family Category:Non-playable characters Category:Yakuza 5 Category:Fighters Category:Ant-Heroes Category:Anti-Villians Category:Yakuza 3 Category:Yakuza 4 Category:Tojo Clan Category:Yakuza Dead Souls Category:Partners Category:Yakuza 2 Category:Dancers Category:Singers Category:Yakuza 6 Characters Category:Yakuza 5 Bosses